This Ending

Inside The Machine

Written by: PP on 13/01/2007 01:27:44

There are a few universal truths in life that all of us can rely on, such as that the day comes after night, money will continue to control the actions of the world, and likewise each year Sweden will produce yet another few dozen overly melodic death metal bands in the vein of At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity. This Ending's debut album "Inside The Machine" is just that with emphasis on sonorous atmospheres delivered by twin guitar harmonies, double kickdrums and melodically growled vocals, a deadly combination that has proven its effectiveness time and time again.

The first two songs on "Inside The Machine" are overwhelmingly powerful and beautiful at the same time. Vocalist Mårten Hansen authoritarian growls "I am.. your master!!" demand you to bow your head in respect, while the twin guitars deliver the kind of unbeliavably beautiful soundscapes you've grown used on most albums by Dark Tranquillity. Are you excited yet? You better be, because the second track "Inside The Machine" takes the prior, speeds it up a notch and makes it catchier than any song you'll hear in this genre, transforming it into what could well be the best melodic death metal song I've heard in the past six months. These two songs are in fact so good that they work as the far too early climax of the album, leaving the remaining tracks completely in their shadow. I mean what chance does a more brutal track like "Armageddon" stand against the infectious twin guitar harmony strolling back and forth on the title track? What can "Let The World Burn" do against the clearly deciphrable, catchy yet brutal chorus "A new messias awaken, can you hear it scream, craving, needing?" that'll stick to your mind for weeks? Let alone against the Slayer-esque solo shredding or the industrial intermission mid song? Placing such an amazing track as the second on the album is pure idiocy, as it causes otherwise well built up, properly structured songs like "Nailed Down" sound anticlimatic and awfully misplaced on the album.

Perhaps the band didn't realize the sheer magnificence of their second track, or were just unable to write equally good songs to accompany it on the album, but I'm left disappointed once I reach the final track. It's not that the rest of the album is bad per say, as "This Ending" demonstrates, but in effect it sounds roughly like an elephant in a ceramic store, shattering the what was meant to be an amazing melodic metal album into pieces of unrecognizable mess and unmemorable gray mass, thoroughly sweeping our memory from the first two tracks that could've elevated this band into a massive status one day.

Download: Inside The Machine, Seed Of Destruction
For the fans of: Dark Tranquillity, Wintersun, Amon Amarth
Listen: Myspace

Release date 04.12.2006
Metal Blade

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